Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Every person in this world believes that happiness, which includes; being able to solve their problems, contentment, finding meaning, and the purpose of their life, is their absolute right as citizens of earth. Everybody is indulging in all kinds of pleasure-seeking. They want something exciting, something thrilling, something memorable and fulfilling. These can range from going bungee jumping to just enjoying your favorite meal at a cozy restaurant. While doing all these, we hope to be fulfilled and find meaning in our lives. But do we always find fulfillment and meaning in our lives?
Just like the preacher, the son of David, King Solomon, we find our honest search for meaning in life frustrated when things do not go as we hoped they would. He says, in the book of Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, ‘I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity… I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives
He continues to say “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled, And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.”
This sounds so hopeless. However, all hope is not lost for sometimes in our pursuit to find happiness and meaning in life we gain happiness and satisfaction. There’s a catch to that though. When King Solomon wrote, ‘There was no profit under the sun.’ he implied that when we shut out God from whatever we do we won’t be able to profit anything. Worst of all we won’t inherit eternal life. When we involve God in our pursuit of pleasure we will find fulfillment and satisfaction in our lives.
What is pleasure?
Pleasure refers to an experience that feels good, and that involves the enjoyment of something 1. Not all pleasures are good, and not all pleasures are bad. So how do we get to know the difference? Here are three points that will help us with that.
1) Anything that refreshes you without distracting you from your final goal is a legitimate pleasure.
You have to draw your final life goal without which you cannot know what will distract you from that goal. In the book of Judges 7, Gideon is set to face the Midianites. He needs to have the right men for them to find victory in that war. God tells him that he could only go with the 300 men who were able to lap water from the river as dogs would. These men were able to be refreshed with the water from the river and were still fit for the war.
Have you ever written the mission statement of your life? As Christians, our main duty is to fear God and keep His commandments. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) All we do should be in line with that. The end goal is eternal life, reigning with Christ forever. Anything that distracts you from achieving that goal is an illegitimate pleasure.
2) Anything that jeopardizes the sacred rights of another is an illicit kind of pleasure.
In the book of 2 Samuel 11, David takes Uriah’s wife, Bethsheba, and ends up killing him. This really displeased the LORD. David chose to indulge in sexual pleasure at the expense of the life of his trusted soldier, Uriah.
We should be mindful of the needs of others, the need for peace, security, and love. We ought to love others as we love ourselves – Mark 12:31. If we applied this crime would reduce, and corruption would be unheard of.
3) Any pleasure, however good if not kept in balance will distort reality and destroy appetite.
Too much of something is dangerous. If you find honey, eat just enough, too much of it, and you will vomit. (Proverbs 25:16). No one is so fed up with life as someone who has exhausted pleasure. Approach the right kinds of pleasure with moderation.
Conclusion
All pleasure is bought at the price of pain. For the right kind of pleasure, the price is paid before you enjoy while for the wrong kind of pleasure you pay the price afterward.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
